Another Ngwathe appeal at the expense of service delivery – AfriForum continues court battle

AfriForum’s court battle against the Ngwathe Local Municipality in its service delivery case continues despite the Municipality’s intention to lodge another appeal, this time to the Constitutional Court. The civil rights organisation’s application in terms of Section 18(3) of the High Courts Act 10 of 2013 was brought earlier this month to request that Judge J.P. Daffue’s original judgment against the Municipality be implemented pending the Municipality’s appeal against it. This case will be heard on 4 December.

Alta Pretorius, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for the Mooi River, says it is alarming that the Municipality intends to turn to the Constitutional Court to try to appeal a balanced court ruling by the Bloemfontein High Court. This despite the fact that the Supreme Court of Appeal this week dismissed the Municipality’s second appeal application with costs. This court ruled that there is “no reasonable prospect of success in an appeal and [that] there is no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard”.

“This step is clear proof that the Municipality has no feeling for the communities it is supposed to serve. Instead of spending time, money and energy on water and sewerage services and maintaining and upgrading infrastructure, Ngwathe chooses to waste taxpayers’ money on court processes that are solely aimed at buying time,” says Pretorius.

AfriForum’s Section 18(3) application asks that the existing court order, which as part of a structured interdict orders the dissolution of the Municipal Council and the immediate intervention of the Free State Provincial Government, be enforced pending the intended appeal. The Municipality’s first application for leave to appeal was dismissed on 19 August and the latest attempt to appeal could take several years to complete.

“AfriForum cannot allow corrupt and incompetent municipalities to use the legal process as a shield to hide their failures. Every cent spent on these appeal processes is a cent not spent on service delivery,” says Pretorius.

AfriForum will continue to assist the residents of Parys, Heilbron, Koppies and Vredefort, among others, in their fight for sustainable service delivery and accountability.

AfriForum calls on the community to stay involved, report injustice and work together to hold local government accountable. Contact Schalk Burger on 082 653 4281 to get involved with AfriForum’s Parys branch.